


Ripples From Across the Pond

by katrie



Category: All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 03:08:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katrie/pseuds/katrie
Summary: Richard Bellingham meets up with an old friend and shares an interesting conversation that he overheard while working in his new lab.
Kudos: 7





	Ripples From Across the Pond

It was dark by the time Richard left the lab. He didn’t normally stay so late, especially when working for a human, but he was new in town and work was a good distraction. He missed Berkeley and the life he’d left there, but it was time to move on before his friends and colleagues noticed that he still looked the same as he did when he arrived there 15 years ago. At least he’d been able to keep his identity for now. They could text and call him, maybe see him at conferences from time to time. If he was careful.

Maybe it was time to grow a beard. That always aged him a bit and could give him some extra time before he had to start all over as a grad student yet again. Maybe he’d go back to Europe for awhile once his time at Yale was up. He hadn’t spent time in Berlin or Munich since before the Great War and European cities were typically a lot easier to hunt in than American ones -- the higher population density made things so much more convenient.

That was one thing he didn’t miss about California. Everything there was so spread out, it was hard to hunt inconspicuously. At least this close to New York, he could pop down to Manhattan from time to time.

As he walked down Whitney Ave. towards the coffee shop, his thoughts turned to the old friend he was meeting there. Simon was on the faculty in the Astronomy department and was the first person Richard had contacted once he’d moved to New Haven. They’d known each other since the twelfth century when they’d both spent time as monks in a French monastery trying to avoid the upheaval in the Holy Land.

As he reached the little cafe, Richard saw Simon in the window and went inside. He ordered a pour-over, then joined Simon at his table.

Looking up from his reading, Simon greeted him. “Nice seeing you, Richard. It’s been a long time. I hadn’t heard that you’d left Berkeley.”

Richard smiled, a bit sadly. “Yes, I got an offer to work in Chris Roberts’ lab as a senior researcher this year. I imagine I’ll be staying in New Haven for awhile, provided things work out at the lab.” If they didn’t, he’d have to consider moving up his timeline for Berlin.

Simon shook his head. “I’ll never understand why you choose to work under humans and not in your own facility.”

Richard rolled his eyes internally. “Well, some of us don’t have the resources to fully self-fund. And besides, Roberts is brilliant, even if he is a human. The work is bound to be interesting.” Brilliant was an understatement. Roberts was awarded a MacArthur fellowship and tenure at Yale before age 35 _without_ a vampire’s previous lives and experience to call upon.

“Does he have any idea what you are?” Simon never did beat around the bush.

After a few moments, Richard responded carefully. “You know, until a few days ago, I would have sworn he was completely clueless.” He took a sip of coffee before continuing. “There are a couple of daemons in the lab also, but no other creatures. And Roberts treats me exactly the same way he treats everyone else. He’s too...casual...around me for it to seem likely.” Richard smiled and laughed internally at this. Roberts had dubbed him “Shotgun” for how fast he processed samples. Richard didn’t think a human would be irreverent (foolish?) enough to knowingly give a vampire a nickname like that.

There was that half-overheard conversation earlier this week, though, that gave him pause. “But he did get a phone call that makes me wonder.”

“Oh?” Simon’s right eyebrow lifted, turning the single word into a whole interrogation.

Richard sighed. He might as well share the whole story. “He got a call from a woman the other day named Diana, I’m not sure of her last name. I wasn’t paying close attention to what they were discussing until halfway through when I heard her ask about Matthew Clairmont.”

Simon sat back abruptly. “Jesus. Is Roberts connected to the de Clermonts? If so, it might be worth moving on sooner than you’d planned. No good comes from getting mixed up with that family.” Certainly not if you were trying to stay under the radar and out of vampire politics the way both Richard and Simon preferred.

“I don’t think so.” Richard hadn’t been expecting quite that reaction from Simon. “The woman asking about de Clermont had met him in Oxford and was curious. She’d looked up de Clermont’s published work and wanted Roberts’ opinion on it and on him. Roberts claimed never to have met him, but told her what he knew. Given how she asked and her responses to a few of his comments, I’d bet that _she_ knows that de Clermont’s a vampire, though, even if Roberts has no clue.”

“What do you mean? What’d she say?” Simon seemed if anything _more_ agitated now, which had Richard taken aback.

“Well, for one, Roberts bet her that de Clermont would win a Nobel Prize at some point and she vehemently disagreed.” No vampire would allow that to happen. The pictures and publicity would make it impossible to fake your death and disappear later.

Simon seemed to calm a bit. “That’s hardly conclusive, though it does indicate that Roberts has no idea that de Clermont is anything but human.”

“Not just that. When they were discussing de Clermont’s work with wolves, Roberts made a joke about de Clermont being part wolf to explain how on the nose his instincts were. The woman responded ‘Maybe he is’ in a way that made it seem like it wasn’t a joke.” Richard had met Matthew de Clermont a few times. While all vampires are wolf-like, especially in terms of pack behavior, de Clermont took it to an extreme.

Simon blinked, a bit startled. “Well, well, that _is_ interesting. You’re probably right about her. Who do you think she is? She can’t be another vampire, otherwise she’d already know all about de Clermont.” All vampires know about the de Clermonts. The smart ones stay out of their way.

Richard was puzzled both by how worked up Simon was getting and by how casually he was trying to play off his interest. Vampires may be known for keeping secrets, but they’d had a remarkably candid friendship for centuries. “It doesn’t seem like she’s a scientist either, given how they were talking. He referenced her work on Boyle, so maybe she studies the history of science? I’d also bet that she’s a creature too. Roberts bet her that de Clermont would ask her out and she was emphatic on the unlikelihood of that as she was on de Clermont winning a Nobel.”

“What did you say her name was again? Diana?”

“Yes. Do you know her? You seem awfully agitated by this conversation, especially since you’re not the one who’s working in Roberts’ lab.”

Simon sighed, still looking worried, but making less of an effort to hide it. “I bet it’s Diana Bishop. She’s tenured faculty here at Yale, by the way, and she’s won a ton of awards for her work. Her area is history of science, like you’d guessed, but more interestingly, she’s a witch.”

“What’s de Clermont doing hanging around a witch? He loathes them. That whole family does.” Richard still didn’t understand what had Simon so worried. And he really couldn’t see de Clermont spending time with a witch, it was too ludicrous.

“I’m not sure, but I heard a rumor a few days ago about a witch in Oxford who’d found the Book of Life. And one of Diana Bishop’s specializations is Alchemy.”

Richard was stunned. “You’re not serious.”

“I am.” Simon took a sip of coffee to regroup before continuing. “The rumor is that the witch who called it up wasn’t magically gifted and sent it back. Creatures have been swarming Oxford for a glimpse ever since.”

“And you think this witch might be the Diana that Roberts was talking to? They could be unrelated or Diana might be looking for the book along with all the other creatures.”

Simon shook his head. “I doubt de Clermont would have approached an unrelated bystander like that, especially one that’s a witch. And if she were one of the crowd after the book, he would have been a lot more menacing towards her, I think. He’s been after it for a long time.”

Richard couldn’t fault the man’s observations or conclusions. The woman Chris had been talking to hadn’t seemed overly worried about de Clermont’s attention and there’s no way anyone, _especially_ a witch, could have missed it if he’d wanted to be threatening.

After a long moment, Richard decided to focus on the positive. Oxford was on another continent and it didn’t seem like de Clermont had a reason to visit New Haven. “Well, if that’s the case, then it’s unlikely that Roberts has any real connection to the man or our world in general. I’m probably safe in the lab for now. You’ll let me know if you hear any other rumors about the situation in Oxford?”

Simon nodded. “Of course.” He decided to change topics. Discussing the de Clermonts, especially in public, made him uncomfortable. “What are your thoughts on meeting up next week? There’s a bar on the other side of town with a fantastic wine list. It’s about as good as you can get without visiting Manhattan.”

Richard smiled. He’d keep an ear out for trouble, but for now it was best to just settle into his new home. “Sounds perfect. I’m still getting settled here and could use some recommendations. Who’s your favorite wine seller in the area?”


End file.
